Fans at the pop-culture event can check out a variety of Man of Steel threads from 1978 to the present.

DC Entertainment co-publisher Dan DiDio strikes a familiar pose in front of Christopher Reeve's original costume from 'Superman: The Movie,' one of many on display at Comic-Con.(Photo: Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY)

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DC Entertainment has eight Superman costumes on display at Comic-Con

The tour showcases Man of Steel threads from 1978 to the present

Two Christopher Reeve movie outfits spent 17 years in a London storage room

Deciding his favorite of the Man of Steel's superhero costumes on display at the DC Entertainment booth at Comic-Con is truly a tough call for DC co-publisher Dan DiDio.

Like most fans probably would, he turns to nostalgia for his choice.

"The Christopher Reeve one," he says, showing off the vibrant blue and red outfit from the original 1978 Superman movie housed with other costumes at the San Diego Convention Center. "I've gotta go classic."

Giving more than 125,000 Comic-Con attendees a chance to check out the many threads of Superman is part of DC's continuing celebration the Man of Steel's 75th anniversary in 2013.

Reeves' signature costume is one of eight at the DC booth, which also includes the late actor's Evil Superman duds from Superman III (1983) — Superman ends up fighting his bad-guy doppelgänger, whose outfit grows darker during the movie, according to Leith Adams, executive director of Warner Bros' corporate archive.

In addition, the display features Dean Cain's small-screen costume from Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993) — DiDio actually worked at ABC at the time — and Smallville star Tom Welling's pre-Superman ensemble of a black trenchcoat and T-shirt with graffiti "S"-shield as the Blur.

Brandon Routh's cinema-ready one from Superman Returns (2006) is part of the movie lineup, as are three worn by Henry Cavill in this summer's Man of Steel movie: the main suit, an alternate black-tinged one seen in two minutes of a dystopian future where Superman has gone very dark, and Clark Kent clothes — frayed Army jacket, stained pants — "aged" to show "the reality of what happens to that character on screen," Adams says.

According to the archivist, while Warner Bros. knew where the more recent Superman suits were, the company had to go hunting for the Reeve ones a while back. They were found in 2000, after having spent 17 years in a storage room in Pinewood Studios in London.

The original Reeve costume is the one that resonates the most with DiDio, who watched the old George Reeves Adventures of Superman show in reruns but had his attention captured by the 1978 film.

"You feel like he's always been part of your life," DiDio says. "He's always been there and you can't identify that one spot where you say, 'This is a character I've really gravitated toward, because I always feel that he was always there and involved in things I've enjoyed.' "

Seeing the evolution of the Superman costume also reveals the loss of the red underwear on the outside of his pants, though DiDio jokes, "I like to think he still has underpants."

The costume design was indicative of the strongman outfit popular in 1938 when Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster debuted Superman in Action Comics No. 1. But in reinventing the character for modern times, DiDio says, "that idea of the underpants above the costume was something that wouldn't resonate with today's audience."

DC has recently focused on exploring the early days of Superman and his legend and lore in the comics, and in his 76th year fans can expect more from the blossoming relationship with the Man of Steel and Wonder Woman, the build-up of his supporting cast and a focus on former love Lois Lane, plus "probably make a trip back to Krypton," DiDio says.

"Superman is such an identifier for who we are and what we are about — not just DC Comics but just comics in general. You think about a character who was created in 1938 and how many other characters have disappeared and faded away, and he is just as strong and probably more vibrant than ever."